Fridays with Luna
by darth kittius
Summary: DH Compliant. So don't read if you haven't read the book. And because of that, my summary is  George spends a series of Friday nights with Luna. Nope, I don't think that gives anything away. Friendship  Luna & George


**Author's Notes: **For onlymefeelinsad, who requested George/Luna and the prompt of Friday. Thanks to missileenvy for the quick beta work!

* * *

It was a Friday when Luna came into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. George had seen her around before, of course. Their families didn't live that far apart. Ron and Hermione were close to Luna, so George knew her. But he couldn't say he had ever sustained a conversation with her. So he was surprised when Luna walked into the shop, nodded at Percy and announced to George that she was taking him out that evening. "I've let Molly know, so she won't be expecting you until later tonight at The Burrow. Meet me in the Magical Creatures section at Flourish & Blotts when you're closed here. It should be soon right?"

George nodded at her dumbly. He watched as she left the store, floating really, not walking. If he weren't so baffled by her announcement, he would have made a mental note to ask her how she walked like that. He did ask her, of course, but not until several weeks later. But on that first day, his eyebrows arched and wrinkled thoughtfully. It had been so long since anyone other than his family had done anything with him. Others had tried - Angela, Alicia and Lee - but they had given up. His mum had run off most everyone but family. He knew she wanted only the best for him, but her definition seemed to be surrounding him with family and never leaving him alone. It was exhausting George. He was moving in a daze. He didn't even know when the decision was made that he would move back to The Burrow and take Bill's old room, sharing it with Charlie (who was staying home for the summer before returning to Romania). He knew he didn't make that decision, but he had found himself there nonetheless. Percy was always around at the store; never even allowing George to go in the experimentation room alone ("wouldn't want you getting hurt in there by yourself, now would we?").

His mind started whirling with possibilities, but slowly, like it was removing cobwebs from synapses that hadn't been used since the Battle of Hogwarts. He turned to busy himself with the ledger, mostly so that Percy wouldn't ask him any questions. George wondered what Luna could have told his mum. He briefly wondered if his mum was trying set him up with Luna, but then dismissed that thought. He remembered overhearing someone - Ron maybe - talking about Luna and Dean becoming a couple. Maybe his brothers had finally tired of looking after him and Mum was looking outside the family. He realized he had finished the books for the night and Percy was taking care of the till. "Well, Percy, it looks like I'm done here. I guess I'll go meet Luna. I'll see you at home."

Percy didn't look at him with any special expression. So there was no information George could obtain from that -- he had half hoped Percy would start smirking at him. At least then he would have a clue that something was planned. But, Percy just looked slightly confused but nodded. "Okay, I'll finish up here. Have a good time - make sure she doesn't let any Blibbering Humdingers bite you."

George cocked his head and grinned slightly. Percy had been doing that more often lately, not being funny exactly, but being less serious. George liked the change. But he didn't really know how to react; everything was so confusing right now. George shuffled out of the store to meet Luna in Flourish & Blotts, squinting at the brightness of the low sun. He found her, as promised, in the Magical Creatures section, perusing a book on Blibbering Humdingers. He did smile at that.

"Oh, hello George. That was quick. I was just trying to find out what the best bait would be to use for a herd of Skewolves. Father suspects there are some in the area. Just let me purchase this and I'll be ready to go."

"Okay" George was still mystified by the concept of interacting with Luna without others around. He could do little but stare at her.

She led him to a quiet hamlet in the Alley that was often used as an Apparition point. "We'll go to daddy's house first. Do you know the location well enough to Apparate yourself, or would you like to go side-along with me?"

George still just stared at her, dazed, for a moment. But then tried to remember where she lived. "Yeah, I know where you live. I can meet you there."

"Great!" Luna smiled and disappeared with a pop, leaving George with little choice but to follow.

On arrival, Luna turned to him, "Dean and I are planning a picnic on Stoatshead Hill to look for the Skewolves this evening. You're welcome to join us if you'd like. But I've noticed they haven't really given you any chance to be alone. You seem like you need it. So, if you'd rather, you could just meet us back here at, say eleven this evening and we'll walk you back to The Burrow so Molly won't be upset."

George was flabbergasted. No one had seemed to care that he might just want some time to himself. His eyes moved quickly as he tried to think of where he might want to go.

Luna continued, "You could stay here if you like. Daddy isn't going to be back until much later. Or use the Floo. It's still working even though the house is in need of a few repairs now. Our land extends for quite some distance, so you could walk if you'd like. Or go anywhere really."

George nodded. "Thank you Luna. Really." He automatically followed her into the house, sitting on a dusty sofa gazing up at a large hole in the ceiling, wondering where he should go. Again, his mind seemed to be working in slow motion. It had been a while since he was allowed to make any decisions at all.

He heard Luna's voice again, "Okay, bye then. You'll be all right?"

George looked up to find both Dean and Luna looking at him from the doorway, holding a picnic basket and some odd measuring instruments. "Yes, I think I'll be fine. I'm just trying to decide what to do."

They nodded at him and the two picnickers disappeared from George's vision.

In the end, George decided to go to a park not far from Luna's house. Fred and he had discovered it one day when they had been looking for a place to try out their Wild-Fire Whiz-Bangs away from their mum's sharp eyes. It was a Muggle park, so there was little chance any of his family would happen by. He just sat, first on the swing and then on the ground. He listened to the silence, enjoyed breathing the unencumbered air and cried, really cried for the first time since his twin's death. When he returned to Luna's later that evening, having cast a face-washing charm or two, he felt more at peace than he had since before Bill's wedding.

George couldn't stop thanking Luna and Dean on the walk back to The Burrow that evening.

But he was still surprised when she showed up the next Friday, and the Friday after, and the Friday after that… It was never a spoken arrangement. It was the fourth week before he visited Fred's gravesite. It was the sixth week before he made himself useful, helping Xenophilius and Luna clean up their house. It was the third month when he asked Luna for some help developing his first new products for the shop. It was the sixth month when Luna and Dean started building a cottage for themselves by the river on Xenophilius' land, with George as the chief interior designer. It was the eighth month when Dean asked him to accompany him ring shopping for Luna.

Somewhere around the fourth month George finally stood up to his mum. He demanded some space (but not too much, he assured her) and moved back to the flat he had shared with Fred. George got back in touch with Angela, Alicia and Lee. Hermione, Ron, Harry and Ginny were regular visitors to the flat - sometimes as subjects of his experiments, sometimes as dinner guests (or cooks, really, as George had never quite accomplished that skill). George started laughing at Percy's jokes and Percy became quite valuable, even creating a new line of Filch-approved products (tame, responsible and non-mess-creating).

But through it all, Fridays never changed. He always showed up in the Magical Creatures section of Flourish & Blotts, even after it was well established that he knew his way to Luna's house. She always seemed vaguely surprised that he was there and always gave him a chance to be on his own, even after he established that he enjoyed her company and no longer was in need of that time on his own.


End file.
